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"That’s How He Plays" Sunil Gavaskar Takes U-Turn On 'Stupid' Remark For Rishabh Pant

Akshita Patel

Sunil Gavaskar praises Rishabh Pant [Source: @BCCI, @Dhoniismforlife/X.com]Sunil Gavaskar praises Rishabh Pant [Source: @BCCI, @Dhoniismforlife/X.com]

Rishabh Pant, known for his fearless style of play, once faced heavy criticism from Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar during a Test match against Australia. Pant had played a rash shot and got out for just 28, leading to Gavaskar’s angry reaction where he shouted on air, “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” However, months later, Gavaskar took a U-turn.

On Day 1 of the Headingley Test between India and England, Rishabh Pant showed maturity to hit an unbeaten 65 off 102 balls at stumps. India ended the day strongly at 359/3, with Shubman Gill also scoring a brilliant 127*.

Sunil Gavaskar Praises Rishabh Pant After Calling Him ‘Stupid’

During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sunil Gavaskar yelled at Rishabh Pant for playing a rash shot and called him ‘stupid’ thrice in commentary. However, the same Gavaskar has changed his tune after watching Pant’s mature and composed innings on Day 1 of the first Test against England at Headingley.

Speaking on Sony Sports and quoted by TOI, Gavaskar praised Pant’s approach and acknowledged that hitting a boundary early allows him to take the pressure off himself.

 “It seems like that’s how he plays. When he comes in to bat, on the second or third ball, he often uses his feet and hits a boundary. It makes him feel free and then allows him to play the way he wants. Over here, he's been measured in his approach—giving himself time out in the middle. But once he's in and the bowlers start to tire, that's when he begins to step down the pitch and really attack, hitting big shots, sixes, and boundaries," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar also noted how Pant looked completely in control against pace bowlers and had an appropriate balance between attacking and defending.

"When he defends, he seems to have so much time against the pace bowlers—it almost looks like he's taking the mickey out of them, saying, "Look, I've got all the time in the world; I don't need to play a big shot, I'm just middling the ball. He’s got enormous talent. I’ve seen him score hundreds in South Africa and Australia, and they've been absolutely unbelievable. There’s such a great blend of defence and attack—starting with solid defence and then shifting to attack,” he further added.

With his half century on day 1 of the Headingley Test, Rishabh Pant surpassed MS Dhoni to become the Asian wicket-keeper with most runs (1,746) in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) countries.